Investors reap rewards as CleanTech Index marks 5 years of ASX outperformance

The Australian CleanTech Index has outperformed the ASX200 by a cumulative 89 per cent over the last five financial years and, for the fifth year in a row has outperformed the wider market over the 12 months to 30 June.

The companies included in the Index are benefitting from the growth across the cleantech sector including renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, energy storage, battery minerals and water treatment.

These are the industries that are redefining how cities work and our communities live so it is no surprise that, regardless of the ongoing fickleness of environmental politics, smart investors are benefitting from these trends.

As detailed in the table below, over the fourth quarter of the 2018 fiscal year, the Australian CleanTech Index recorded a gain of 5.9% compared behind the 7.6% gain from the ASX200 and the 7.3% gain of the ASX Small Ordinaries.

Over the 2018 fiscal year, the Australian CleanTech Index recorded a gain of 13.9%, ahead of the ASX200’s gain of 8.3% but lagging the ASX Small Ordinaries’ gain of 20.5%.

Over the last three years, the Australian CleanTech Index is over 40% ahead of the ASX200 and over five years this increases to 89%.

The best and worst performers in terms of share price performance over the quarter and full year are shown in the table below.

The Australian CleanTech Index underwent its quarterly rebalancing at the end of June which took account of recent share issues and other corporate activity. One company was removed from the Index and five companies were added to the Index.

To provide an analysis of the Australian CleanTech Index, a number of sub-indices have been developed. Over the 2017-18 financial year, the best performing index was the Australian Water Index, being driven by very strong growth in Reliance Worldwide Corp, with the Australian Renewable Energy Index showing the weakest performance.

The relatively new Australian Sustainable Minerals Index had a poor quarter as lithium stocks contracted.

With 90 companies falling under the coverage of the Index and with a combined market capitalisation of over $45.0 billion, the Australian CleanTech Index presents for the only complete picture of the Australian cleantech industry’s growth in a single measure.

The growth of the sector over the last five years has been incredibly strong and there is no sign of this slowing down. As with any growing industry there remains some volatility in earnings but the investment fundamentals underpinning the cleantech sector are coming to fruition for those that have backed the sector to date.

For those yet to invest, there is still potential for strong growth and maybe another five years of outperforming the wider market.

The full Annual Index Performance Report can be downloaded from here.